Independence Day
by TMNTgrl
Summary: Prompt 94:100 - Independence. The turtles get a double Independence day! But Don worries that independence might not be worth it if it puts them in danger... Don's POV. Oneshot; a little late for the holiday, but yeah well.


**_A/N: Alright, so it's a little late for independence day...but so what. I ain't waiting a year just to post a measly oneshot!_**

* * *

"Guys!" I whooped. "Guys, guess what?! Sensei says we can go topside tonight _on our own_!"

Mikey immediately started bouncing off the walls in excitement. Leo just smiled quietly; he looked pretty tired- not that I could blame him, seeing as how he had been sick all week. Raph tackled me. "You're kidding!" he cried.

"No, I'm not!" My voice was shill with enthusiasm. "He says we can go as soon as it's dark out!"

Now that night was a very exciting night. It was like double Independence Day. Not only was it, well, Independence Day, but it was also the first time Splinter had let us out of the lair- on our own. Granted that we had to stick together, but still- talk about freedom! If we didn't cause trouble, he said, we'd be able to go out whenever we wanted- in pairs, of course, but that was okay with me.

Especially since I had been working a little something up over the past week that I knew my brothers would love seeing . . . ah . . . if it worked, that is.

Leo sat down with a quiet grunt. "Nnnh . . . I think I might stay home, guys. I'm still feeling pretty- oof!"

Raph and I laughed as we watched Mikey cannon himself into the blue-clad turtle. "No way, Leo! You have to come! If you don't go, I won't go either!"

That was really lovable of Mikey. We all knew how badly he wanted to see the fireworks show out near the baseball stadium. So him offering to stay home with Leo was just too sweet. "I'll stay too," I said quietly.

That really left Raph with no other choice. He folded his arms huffily, but I could tell that he had been about to say the same thing.

Leo smiled in that same tired way. "Guys, you don't have to do that. I can just stay and watch it on TV."

Mikey shook his head; the guy was and still is stubborn if nothing else. "Nope. Either we all go, or no one goes. It's not fair for you to stay home while we get to go see something awesome."

"But it isn't fair for you guys to miss out because I have a stupid cold." Leo's retort was quiet, but pretty strong.

Mikey's stubbornness was stronger. "Well, you can't _make_ us go; so _there_!"

Leo laughed. "You got me there."

I sat down nearby and felt his forehead. "How do you feel?" His fever had stayed away since it had broken the day before; that was a good sign.

Leo shrugged. "Tired, more than anything. A little stuffy."

"Fresh air will help that," I noted. "No headache? Not feeling sick to your stomach?"

Leo shook his head.

I patted his shoulder firmly. "Then I deem you healthy enough to come with us. Don't worry; I'm sure sensei will give us a break from ninjutsu practice tomorrow. And besides, I have a special surprise to show you guys."

Leo couldn't argue against that.

* * *

It was a good night. Great weather, and we found a rooftop with a perfect view of the baseball field, so we even got to watch the game. Or rather, Leo and I watched the game. Raph and Mikey were more interested in playing around.

"I know!" Mikey cried. "Let's play our own baseball game, Raphie!"

Raph shrugged. "Sure." He bounded over to where Leo and I were sitting quietly. "Donny, can Mikey and I borrow your big stick and use it as a baseball bat?"

My head shot toward him. "It's _not_ a stick, and I'm not letting you have it until you be nice about it!"

I worried myself a little by saying that. Without Splinter here to keep us in check, I had given Raph plenty of call to fight for possession of the practice weapon. But I couldn't just let him get away with calling such an awesome weapon a _stick_!

But, to my shock, Raph lowered his head a little. "Sorry, Donny. Can we borrow your staff, please?"

Despite my shock, I smiled. He had even said 'please'! "Sure."

Raph's face lit up, and he and Mikey hurried to find a ball.

Again, I grew uneasy. There was a rock by Raph's foot- a heavy, sharp rock- that was about the shape of a ball. And I could tell he had noticed it. Maybe independence wasn't really worth it if-

"Hey, I know!" Mikey suddenly exclaimed. "Let's roll up our masks and make a ball out of those! You can use mine for the outside." Mikey still wore the more hood-like mask, while the rest of our masks were simple strips of cloth with eyeholes. Leo and I lent ours to the makeshift ball as well.

Watching Raph and Mikey was honestly more amusing than watching the actual game. Someone sighed near my ear- or rather the side of my head- and I looked to find that Leo had his head on my shoulder . . . and he was sound asleep. And smiling. So I left him be.

"Look guys!" Raph cried. "They're starting the fireworks; lookit the big carts!"

They sat down to watch. "Wow," Mikey breathed. "So many _colors_ . . ."

I felt bad for Leo being asleep . . . but I really didn't want to wake him. But when I turned my head, he was wide awake, his eyes shining. He flicked his gaze toward me and his smile only broadened. "Thanks for convincing me to come," he whispered.

I just wrapped an arm around him and gave him a squeeze. The fireworks were amazing; what we'd seen on TV in previous years was nothing compared to this.

"Wow," Mikey said again when the last firework had been fired. "That . . . that was _cool_!"

Leo yawned. "It really was. Can we go to bed now?"

"Wait!" I cried. "Not yet, guys! I . . . I have to show you something."

They all looked at me. This was it. I took out my little homemade fireworks. "I-I don't know if these will even work, but I have to try! If they do work, they'll look really, really neat."

"Go for it!" Mikey encouraged.

They were all smiling expectantly. So I took out a little firework and a match. "Promise you guys won't tell Splinter?"

My brothers nodded. I lit the little cherry bomb and hurried back a good couple of feet.

The homemade firework fizzed and crackled, and exploded in a burst of blue. "Cool!" Raph said. "Do another one!"

I lit off several more ground fireworks; I had even managed to make a screamer that worked- regrettably a little too well; talk about _loud_! "Okay," I said. "This is the big one." _And the scary one, _I thought, _and the super iffy one, and the dangerous one, and the technically illegal one._

They were still smiling. So I took a deep breath, lit it up, and scrambled away.

For a long moment, nothing happened. I crossed my fingers.

Then, the firework suddenly took off like a rocket and exploded several feet above our heads, showering us with sparkles of green. We all cheered. "Awesome!" Mikey shouted. "Wicked!"

"Pretty cool," Leo added in that gentle, quiet way of his.

Raph just punched me in the arm- a sure sign of his own language of 'cool'.

That was a great night. A good double independence day. Splinter eventually trusted us out on our own, not needing to be in pairs.

Luckily for me, he never found out about those homemade fireworks; I can only imagine the lair arrest that would have followed.

* * *

**_A/N: Hope you enjoyed; don't forget to review! Flames will be used to burn my ultra-boring history teacher and convince him to be more interesting!_**


End file.
